The sweet cherry is one of the most popular of temperate fruit crops with consumers and is grown commercially in more than 40 countries of the world, in temperate, Mediterranean, subtropical and arid regions of all continents. The sour cherry is cultivated in fewer countries, mainly in Europe and the USA, and is used mainly in processed cherry products. Until recently, horticultural improvement of cherries as a commercial crop has been slow, and major production problems such as bird damage, rain-induced cracking, and bacterial diseases, have remained. However, in the last 25 years, major developments have occurred. New improved varieties of sweet cherry have been bred which have larger fruit, are more disease resistant and set fruit more reliably. Improved sour cherry varieties have also been bred and mechanised systems of harvesting introduced. New dwarfing rootstocks are now being released. This book provides a comprehensive review of all of these topics, and many more. It covers all aspects of the botany, production and uses of sweet and sour cherries, and represents a definitive reference work for students and research workers in horticulture as well as professional fruit growers.
Part One: Introduction
The taxonomic classification of sweet and sour cherries and a brief history of their cultivation, A D Webster
World distribution of sweet and sour cherry production: national statistics, A D Webster and N E Looney
Part Two: Plant Materials
Sweet cherry scions: characteristics of principal commercial cultivars, breeding objectives and methods, G Bargioni
Sour cherries cultivars: objectives and methods of fruit breeding and characteristics of principal commercial cultivars, A Iezzoni
Rootstocks for sweet and sour cherries, A D Webster and H Schmidt
Part Three: Crop Physiology and Husbandry
Propagation of sweet and sour cherries, A D Webster
Selection of the orchard site, orchard planning and establishment, M Longstroth and R L Perry
Flowering , pollination and fruit set, M Thompson
Cherry nutrient requirements and water relations, E J Hanson and E L Proebsting
Tree canopy management and the orchard environment, principles and practices of pruning and training, J A Flore and C D Kesner
Principles and practice of plant bioregulator usage in cherry production, N E Looney
Rain-induced cracking of sweet cherries; its causes and prevention, J Vittrup Christensen
Part Four: Crop Protection
Orchard floor vegetation management, E J Hogue and N E Looney
Cherry diseases: their prevention and control, G I Mink and A L Jones
Management and control of insect and mite pests of cherry, J F Brunner
Sweet cherries: protection of fruit from bird and rain damage, D Pennell and A D Webster
Part Five: Harvesting, Handling and Utilization
Harvesting and handling of sweet cherries for the fresh market, N E Looney, A D Webster and E M Kupferman
Harvesting and handling sour and sweet cherries for processing, G K Brown and G Kollar
Cherry processing, K Kaack, S E Spayd and S R Drake
Index
A D Webster, Horticulture Research International, East Malling, UK
Looney was Head of the Pomology and Viticulture Section at Summerland for more than 15 years. His service to national and international horticultural science includes being Chair of the Fruit Section of the International Society for Horticultural Science (1994-2000), President of the Canadian Society for Horticultural Science (1997-99; CSHS Life Membership awarded in 2002), President of the 24th International Horticultural Congress (2002), and President of the International Society for Horticultural Science (2002-2010; awarded Fellow of ISHS in 2006). Dr. Looney is also a Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science (1985). He owns and operates a peach orchard overlooking Okanagan Lake in interior British Columbia.